The Act of August 31, 1922, entitled
"An Act to regulate foreign commerce in the importation into the United
States of the adult honey bee (Apis mellifica)" (referred to
hereinafter as the Honeybee Act of 1922), prohibits the entry of honey bees from
countries where diseases and parasites are known to exist that endanger the
health of honey bees. Additional amendments and regulations, promulgated by the
Department of Agriculture, extended the Act to prohibit the importation of all
life stages of the genus Apis, expanded the prohibition to prevent the
entry of diseases and pests that endanger the health of honey bees and
undesirable germplasm. Regulations promulgated under the Honeybee Act are
published in Title 7 CFR Part 322.

The diseases, pests and germplasm
specifically identified in the Honeybee Act and amendments, including
regulations under the Federal Plant Pest Act entitled Exotic Bee Diseases and
Parasites (Title 7 CFR Part 319.76) are as follows:

Because the protozoan Nosema apis
is widespread in the United States, it is not considered an exotic disease.

Until recently, only the United States
Department of Agriculture could import adult honey bees under the rules and
regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Treasury and the Secretary of
Agriculture. Recent trade agreements (the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade, and the North American Free Trade Agreement) obligated the United States
to consider imports of honey bees from countries where science-based analyses
indicate acceptable risk levels and/or adequate risk management tactics. This
pest risk assessment was prepared by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) to examine the risks associated with the
importation into the United States of adult queens, package bees (adult queens,
adult drones and adult workers) and germplasm (semen and ova) of honey bees, Apis
mellifera L from Australia. The methods we used to initiate, conduct, and
report this pest risk assessment are consistent with guidelines provided by the
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and by the Office
International des Epizooties (OIE). This document satisfies the requirements of
OIE Guidelines for risk assessment (OIE 1998).

II.
Risk Assessment

A. Initiating Event: Proposed
Action

Australia first requested access of
their honey bees to the United States in 1987. That request initiated an
informal risk assessment. The current risk assessment follows a formal request
made in January 1997 by the Australian government for access to our market. This
assessment closely follows in content and time a recently published (December 9,
1999) risk assessment for the importation of live honeybees into the United
States from New Zealand (Docket No. 99-091-1). The Australian apiculture pest
risk is very similar to that in New Zealand, differing only by the addition of
European Foulbrood disease to those diseases and pests found in New Zealand.

Canada has allowed the importation of
honey bee queens and package bees from Australia since 1973. In addition, the
movement of honey bees from Canada into the United States has not been regulated
or restricted since Canada first allowed entry of Australia honey bees. Although
much concern was initially raised about the inadvertent import of Melittiphis
alvearius and half-moon syndrome from New Zealand and Australia into North
America, no reports have indicated adverse events in either Canada or the United
States.

III.
Assessment of Australian Honey Bee Regulations and Surveillance Programs

The Quarantine Act of 1908 and quarantine
conditions issued in 1996 provide the legislative basis for Australian honey bee
quarantine policy. Quarantine measures are implemented by the Australian
Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS). To prevent the introduction of bee
diseases and pests, commodities that present a significant quarantine risk such
as used beekeeping equipment and live beesmay only be imported if
they meet stringent health requirements and are accompanied with the proper
declaration and health certificate from the country of origin. Entry of honey
bees into Australia cannot occur until an import permit has been issued by the
Manager, Animal Programs Section, AQIS. Importation of live bees is restricted
to queen bees and their escorts. The importation of package bees is not
permitted. For countries where varroa mite (Varroa spp.), tracheal mite (Acarapis
woodi) and Tropilaelaps mite (Tropilaelaps spp.) occur, the health
certificate from the country of origin must confirm that bees to be exported to
Australia have been treated with an efficacious acaricide for a period of 56
days immediately prior to export. Pre-export inspection is required to confirm
that the hives from which bees for export have been sourced are free of visible
evidence of the following honey bee diseases and/or pests:

American foul
brood (Bacillus larvae)

European foul
brood (Melissococcus pluton)

External
acariasis (Acarapis extermus, A. Dorsalis, A. Vagans)

Tracheal mite (Acarapis
woodi)

Half-moon
syndrome

Varroa mite (Varroa
spp.)

Tropilaelaps mite
(Tropilaelaps spp.)

Bee Lice (Braula
spp.)

Imported bees are collected by a Quarantine
Officer at the Sydney Mail Exchange or Sydney International Airport and
delivered to the Eastern Creek Animal Quarantine Station.

For importation of queen bees with escorts the
queen is introduced into a nucleus hive at the quarantine facility and the
original escorts are killed and examined for:

Tracheal mite (Acarapis
woodi)

Varroa mite (Varroa
spp.)

Tropilaelaps mite
(Tropilaelaps spp.)

Nucleus hives are maintained in flight cages
while in quarantine. Larvae produced by an imported queen during quarantine may
subsequently be released from quarantine subject to the satisfactory completion
of examinations (microscopic where necessary) of appropriate numbers of worker
bees and brood to verify that exotic parasites and bee strains are not present.
Upon satisfactory completion of quarantine requirements, brood frames can then
be removed from the nucleus colony and placed into a grafting room where larvae
are grafted into plastic queen cells before being released to the importer. The
imported queen is destroyed at the completion of the quarantine process due to
the possibility of latent infection with exotic parasites, particularly tracheal
mite (Acarapis woodi).

Domestic movements of honey bees are regulated
through state legislation. State authorities are empowered to place movement
restrictions on hives infected with notifiable diseases and to destroy affected
hives where necessary for disease control. Each state determines the restricted
diseases and controls movements from other states. Interstate movements are
permitted subject to satisfactory inspection by state government apiary
inspectors. Under existing legislation beekeepers are required to notify
relevant state government authorities of notifiable diseases such as American
foulbrood, European foulbrood and chalkbrood. Western Australia remains free of
European foulbrood. Notifiable diseases also include exotic diseases and pests
such as tracheal mite (A. woodi) and varroa mite (V. jacobsoni).

For export of honeybees to foreign countries,
state government apiary inspectors are authorized under the Export Control Act
of 1982 to perform pre-export inspections. Inspection report details and
laboratory results (where necessary) are sent to the regional AQIS Veterinary
Officers. The certifying Veterinary Officer verifies the report and provided the
pre-export results and inspections meet the requirements of the country of
destination then an export permit and health certificate are issued. Provision
exists for prosecution where necessary.

IV.
Assessment of Australia Honey Bee Species and Strains

The honey bee, Apis mellifera,
is not indigenous to Australia and was first imported into New South Wales in
1822 and Western Australia in 1866 (Gibbs and Muirhead, 1998). Australia allows,
with proper permits, the commercial importation of Apis mellifera from:
Austria, Canada, Canary Islands, Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Germany,
Italy, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Poland, the United Kingdom, U.S., the Newly
Independent States of the former Soviet Union, Croatia,Slovenia, Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzogovina, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslovia.

The Africanized honey bee, Apis
mellifera scutellata and its hybrids are not known to occur in Australia.
The Asian honey bee, Apis cerana has spread from Irian Jaya into Papua
New Guinea and onto Australian islands in the Torres Strait (January 1992). An
aggressive quarantine program has contained the Asian honey bee and it has not
been introduced into mainland Australia. The Asian honey bees in the Torres
Strait are more than 1200 km from the nearest commercial exporter of queen and
package bees (Lacey, 1999).

Based on the history of honey bee
importations into Australia, the absence of any reports of species other than Apis
mellifera or of other adverse subspecies or strains, Australian honey bees
are considered the same subspecies of honey bees found in the United States.

1"Not
Reported" acknowledges information received from local beekeepers and
apiary inspectors on the apparent absence of a pest in a State. However, no data
from science-based surveys have been presented or could be found in the
scientific literature to substantiate the claims.

VI.
List of Quarantine Pests

A. Quarantine significant diseases
or pests in Australia (diseases, pests, or adverse species or strains of
honey bees that occur in Australia but not in the United States).

NONE

B. OIE List A Diseases in Australia
(transmissible diseases which have the potential for very serious and rapid
spread, irrespective of national borders, which are of serious socio-economic
consequence and which are of major importance in the international trade of
animals and animal products)

NONE LISTED BY OIE.

C. OIE List B Diseases inAustralia
(transmissible diseases which are considered to be of socio-economic
importance within countries and which are significant in the international
trade of animals and animal products):

1. Paenibacillus larvae
larvae (American Foulbrood)

This honey bee disease occurs in
Australia and the United States, including Hawaii. Paenibacillus larvae
larvae is a slender rod-shaped bacterium with slightly rounded ends and a
tendency to grow in chains. The rod varies greatly in length, from about 2.5 to
5 microns (mm), and is about 0.5 mm wide. The spore is oval and approximately
twice as long as wide, about 0.6 by 1.3 mm. Approximately 2.5 billion spores are
produced in each infected larva. If the larva has been infected for less than 10
days, the vegetative cells are present, and some newly formed spores may be
seen.

American foulbrood (AFB) disease can
destroy a colony of bees if left untreated. The disease can occur anytime during
the active brood rearing season. Larvae become immune about 72 hours after egg
hatch. The most common means by which this disease is transmitted is by
beekeepers who interchange brood combs between healthy and infected colonies. In
addition, AFB can be transmitted colony-to-colony by adult bees and also by
feeding healthy colonies honey from colonies with AFB. This disease is
considered an economic pest and methods to mitigate this vary from country to
country and state to state. In most jurisdictions bee inspections program, as we
know them today, had their beginnings to mitigate AFB.

The disease is detected by inspection
of colonies during the brood rearing season. In the U.S., health certificates
are traditionally issued by the state inspection services certifying a
disease-free source apiary, date of last inspection and inspectors name. No
practical method is available for certifying the absence of Paenibacillus
larvae larvae in package bees and queens.

2. Melissococcus pluton
(European Foulbrood Disease)

European Foulbrood disease (EFB) occurs
in Australia and the United States, including Hawaii. Melissococcus pluton
is the bacterial causative agent for European Foulbrood disease. The disease is
not considered a serious disease by most beekeepers. Only larvae less than 2
days old are affected by the disease whick usually strikes in mid to late
Spring. Infected larvae usually express a varied microflora. The infectious
cycle begins when the larva ingests contaminated food and bacteria establish in
the midgut. and fill up the midgut increasing the food requirements of the
larva. Nurse bees may stop feeding the infected larva or eject it from the
colony. Those that die in the colony do so in the coiled stage.

European Foulbrood can be detected
using a variety of techniques. Long dead larvae appear as a scale in the cell
that is more rubbery than the scale produced by American Foulbrood. The brood
comb can take on an unusual appearance with scattered uncapped cells among
normal capped cells. The cell caps may also appear concaved whereas the healthy
cell cap is convex. The brood comb can have a unique sour smell. Lastly, an
ELISA test can be used to identify even low levels of EFB.

Treatment to control EFB is usually not
needed. A healthy colony can overcome EFB during a good nectar flow. Stressed
colonies are the most effected including those that are moved frequently for
pollination services. Antibiotics are available to treat the disease, in
particular, oxytetracycline is used.

3. Nosema apis (Nosema
Disease, Nosemosis).

Nosema disease occurs in Australia and
the United States, including Hawaii. Nosema apis is the protozoan that
causes nosema disease. Nosema apis spores are large, oval bodies, 4-6 um
long by 2-4 um wide. The spores develop exclusively within the epithelial cells
of the ventriculus of the adult honey bee. Nosema disease usually manifests
itself in bees that are confined; therefore, the heaviest infections are found
in winter bees, package bees, bees used for pollination in greenhouses, etc.
Since nosema disease occurs worldwide, it was excluded from the Honeybee Act and
its movement within the United States is not under statutory control.

The disease reduces the longevity of
adult bees and hence can affect the productivity and survival of honey bee
colonies. No single symptom typifies nosema disease. Differences between healthy
bees and heavily infected bees can be seen by removing the digestive tract and
examining the ventriculus. The ventriculus of a healthy bee is straw brown, and
the individual circular constrictions are clearly seen. In a heavily infected
bee, the ventriculus is white, soft, and swollen, obscuring the constrictions
(White 1918). However, positive diagnosis can only be made by sacrificing adult
bees from packages or queen cages for microscopic examination. Fecal material of
queens can also be examined for the presence of Nosema apis spores.

Kashmir bee virus (KBV) occurs in
Australia and the United States, but is not reported in Hawaii. KBV was first
isolated from adult Apis cerana, the Eastern honey bee by Bailey and
Woods (1977). Since then, KBV has been isolated from A. mellifera in
Australia, Canada, and the U.S. The KBV found in each of the countries are
serologically related but not considered identical. According to Bailey and Ball
(1991) "the Australian strains of KBV were associated with severe mortality
of adult bees in the field and have also appeared to cause death of
larvae". AQIS has noted that subsequent research failed to demonstrate a
causal association between KBV and mortality in honey bee larvae (Anderson
1991).

Since Varroa jacobsoni is not
reported in Australia or New Zealand, it is apparent that KBV is primarily
transmitted "bee to bee" and does not require mite transmission.
However, diagnosis of the virus requires activation of the virus by injecting a
suspect suspension in an apparently healthy pupae and observing for symptoms and
confirming the presence of the virus serologically.

Although KBV is "not
reported" to occur in Hawaii, no valid surveys have been conducted during
at least the past decade to scientifically support claims of its absence from
the State. Consequently, KBV is not considered a Quarantine Pest subject to
further consideration in this assessment. However, results from future,
science-based surveys in Hawaii could cause reconsideration of this pest
relative to imports to that State.

2. Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus

Chronic bee paralysis disease is also
referred to as the "hairless black syndrome." The virus that causes
chronic bee paralysis is widespread and occurs in Australia and the United
States, but is not reported in Hawaii. However the disease rarely causes
economic damage. Because the susceptibility to the disease is genetically
inherited, generally out-crossing bee stocks remedies the situation.

Possible sources of disease
transmission are package bees (artificial swarms), established colonies with
combs, and queens.

Chronic bee paralysis virus is not
easily detected. Although individual colonies may show adult bees with the
symptoms of chronic bee paralysis disease, positive confirmation requires
serology. This disease is not included in health certificates used for
interstate movement of honey bees in the United States.

Although chronic bee paralysis virus is
"not reported" to occur in Hawaii, no valid surveys have been
conducted during at least the past decade to scientifically support claims of
its absence from the State. Consequently, chronic bee paralysis virus is not
considered a Quarantine Pest subject to further consideration in this
assessment. However, results from future, science-based surveys in Hawaii could
cause reconsideration of this pest relative to imports from Australia to that
State.

Paenibacillus larvae larvae
(American Foulbrood) and Melissococcus pluton (European Foulbrood
Disease) are considered quarantine pests as a consequence of their status as OIE
List B pests. However, the occurrence of these diseases throughout the United
States negates much of the risk related considerations in evaluating economic
importance and likelihood of introduction.

Although Nosema apis (Nosema
Disease, Nosemosis) also is an OIE List B pest, we do not list it as a
quarantine pest for further analysis due to its wide distribution in the United
States, and its exemption as an exotic bee disease under the Honeybee Act. Since
the movement of N. apis is not under statutory control within the United
States, the SPS agreement stipulates that no sanitary measures can be imposed
relative to honey bee imports

Although several pests discussed above
are reported not to occur in Hawaii, we can find no scientific evidence to
support such claims. As a consequence, we have made no special consideration for
the State of Hawaii in this assessment. However, the results from future,
science-based surveys could cause reconsideration of this assessment relative to
that State.

VIII.
Economic Importance: Consequences of Introduction

Since P. larvae larvae and
Melissococcus pluton already occurs in the United States, we rate the
economic consequences of introducing these pests as low. This overall rating is
based on low economic and environmental consequences, despite high ratings for
dispersal capabilities, climatic tolerances and host availability.

IX.
Likelihood of Introduction

To determine an overall estimate of the
likelihood of introduction of P. larvae larvae and Melissococcus
pluton we estimated the following independent likelihoods:

Expected
quantity of queens and packages imported annually

Low

Likelihood
of occurring in shipments

Low

Likelihood
of surviving shipments

High

Likelihood
of not being detected at the port of entry

High

Likelihood
of moving to suitable habitats

High

Likelihood
of finding suitable hosts

High

The " low" estimate for the
likelihood of occurring in shipments is the most critical in this pathway. This
estimate is based on compulsory inspections, destruction and reporting for bee
disease and prevention in Australia. Since the use of antibiotics is allowed,
the presence of AFB could be masked in individual colonies. As a consequence,
the annual incidence of AFB in Australia could be higher than the 3-4% infection
for the colonies in mainland Australia. In comparison, 1977 estimates of disease
in the United States where antibiotics are used, range from a low of 0.0% in
several states to a high of 4.0% of colonies inspected in Tennessee and
Wisconsin (Smith, 1998; see also discussions in Matheson and Reid, 1992).
Australian colonies are also regularly inspected and all colonies with disease
symptoms are removed from the production system and not used as a source of bees
for export. As a consequence, it is unlikely that any infected honey bees would
be included in shipments to the United States.

Based on these considerations, we
conclude that the cumulative likelihood of introducing P. larvae larvae
is low.

X.
Conclusion: Pest Risk Potential and Mitigation Measures

Combining the risk ratings for
consequences and likelihood of introduction, we conclude that the overall pest
risk potential for P. larvae larvae and Melissococcus pluton is
low. Although this pest already occurs in the United States, its listing as a
pest of international importance relative to the movement of honey bees requires
caution. Apiary inspection programs in the United States also monitor this pest
to prevent its movement in interstate commerce. However, the statutory measures
for AFB prevention and control in Australia are at least equivalent to those
imposed within the United States. Consequently, the inspection and certification
program currently used by Australia for honey bee exports to other countries
where AFB is endemic and under statutory control are adequate for shipments to
the United States.

We found no evidence of adverse
species, subspecies or strains of honey bees that would be of concern relative
to the importation of honey bee germplasm from Australia. Likewise, we found no
viruses or other disease organisms that posed significant risk to the import of
germplasm.

We recommend that all queens and
package bees exported from Australia to the United States be from apiaries
inspected and certified by Australian regulatory officials as:

1. The bees are a product of Australia.

2. The bees are derived from an apiary
or apiaries registered and inspected under, and otherwise complying with AQIS
regulations

3. The brood combs in the hives from
which the bees are derived showed no clinical signs of American foulbrood on
the day of collection.

XI.
Acknowledgments

This risk assessment was developed with
extensive technical input from Dr. H. Shimanuki of the Agricultural Research
Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD.

Gibbs, D.M.H. and I.F. Muirhead. 1998.
The economic value and environmental impact of the Australian beekeeping
industry. A report prepared for the Australian beekeeping industry.

Goodwin, M. and C. Van Eaton. 1999.
Elimination of American foulbrood without the use of drugs; a practical manual
for beekeepers. National Beekeepers' Association of New Zealand; Napier, New
Zealand. 78 pp.

Peng, Y-S., and K-Y. Peng. 1979. A
study on the possible utilization of immunodiffusion and immunofluorescence
techniques as the diagnostic for American foulbrood of honey bees (Apis
mellifera). Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 33:284-289.